The first mother is the widow of Zarephath. You may remember that Elijah, the famous prophet, was born in Jordan, near the city of Ajloun, in Tishbe. After he announced to Ahab that no rain would come again until he said so, he ran for his life. First, he stayed by the brook at Cherebith and the ravens fed him.
When the brook dried up, he went to Zarephath. As he entered the gate, he saw Widow Mom, who was gathering sticks for a fire.
"Would you give me a drink of water, please?" he asked her.
She was very nice and, even though there was a terrible drought and water was in scare supply, she nodded yes and turned to get it.
"By the way, will you make me a little cake of bread, too?"
Widow-Mom turned around and gave him the Mom-look that every child knows. It means, "You have to be kidding me." (among other things) She just shook her head. "I have a handful of flour and just enough oil to make a little cake of bread. It's all I have. After that, no way to get more. My son and I are going to starve to death."
"You won't starve," Elijah said. "Make some bread for me first, then make bread for yourself. God will not let you run out."
Widow-Mom was very discouraged, but she had heard of Elijah's God before. She shrugged and said, "Well, okay. I'll give it a try," and went to work in the kitchen.
She made Elijah's bread and there was enough flour to make bread for her and her son. She made their bread, put it all in the oven, and started to clean the kitchen. To her surprise, there was still enough oil and flour to make more bread!
During the entire drought, Elijah stayed with her and her son. The flour bowl never ran out.
Eunice was also a widow-mom. She had a little boy and they lived with her mother in a big city. There were lots of ways for a boy to get in trouble in that big city, but Eunice taught her son, Timothy, to love God and do what He says.
She taught him good lessons every day about loving God, because she loved God herself. Timothy was a wise boy and he listened to his mama. He never did get in bad trouble.
When Timothy grew up, he became a famous preacher and remembered all the lessons his mama taught him. He loved God even more than his mama did.
Mrs. Lovegren was also a famous mama. She lived here in Ajloun at the Christian Center and helped at the Baptist School and the Baptist Hospital. Mrs. Lovegren loved God so much that His love spilled out from her to everyone around her.
If someone was poor, she would give them money. If someone was hungry, she would take them food. She welcomed everyone into her home. Christian. Muslim. Rich. Poor. Anyone was welcome.
She would go visit and help anyone. Christian. Muslim. Rich. Poor. She loved everyone.
Do you know why she loved everyone? Because Jesus had already loved her so much that He died and rose again for her sins.
If someone loves me that much, she thought, I should love Him, too. And so, she did.
She had two little daughters and she taught her daughters all about Jesus. About His goodness. About His love. Those two girls grew up to teach people about Jesus, too, because they let His love flow out of them!
It's a very simple lesson, because I like simple, and so do children. In fact, Jesus likes simple, too.
This is His kind of simple: Don't be afraid. I've got this. Love everyone. Act like Me every chance you get.
That's what He wants us to do, too. Whether we're sweet little children or big, grouchy grown ups, Jesus wants us to stop being afraid, stop hating, stop hoarding, and start loving, obeying, and giving.
Is that how we live? If not, what do we need to do about it?
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ps - the picture above of my son and me. I'm not famous, but I'm a mother, too.
In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: When Love Prevails
This ministry is so much more than a blog. Speaking. Teaching. Hands-on outreach, literally around the world. Connecting with and encouraging missionaries around the world. It's only possible because of the generosity of your support.
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